Could Someone Make Me Some Chicken Soup?

And I'm wishing someone would serve me some chicken soup. But my husband gets all squeamish with the bones and my mother is across town. So I am posting my stock/soup recipe in case any of you are in this situation or want to bring me over a bowl.

Chicken soup is a natural probiotic, bacteria-fighting wonder. It is the base for all good soups, sauces and gravies. As we wrote in the book, the scent of chicken stock simmering is the smell of home. You can buy chicken backs from the butcher or use leftover bones from a roast chicken or if you want to have lots of yummy poached chicken left for sandwiches or fajitas. If you don't have the veggies called for on  hand - no worries, use what you have.

1                     3-4 lb chicken or a bunch of chicken backs and necks from butcher,                        or bones leftover from roasted chicken

12 cups            cold water, or enough to cover the chicken bones by 1 inch

2                      onions, unpeeled, quartered

2                      carrots, cut into 1” pieces

2                      leek tops, well rinsed

2                      parsley stems (reserve leaves)

Combine chicken, water, onions, carrots, leek tops and parsley stems in a large pot, bring to a boil, turn down to low so that stock simmers gently, and cook for 1 hour.  Remove chicken from pot, cool until you can handle it.  Remove meat and reserve.  Return bones to stock, and simmer for 1 hour longer.  Strain stock, and skim off any fat which surfaces.  Cool.  Pour into containers and refrigerate or freeze until needed.

Yields about 9 cups stock.

The upside is that since I have to whisper to all my kids, I have re-learned my lesson from last year that when you whisper to kids, they whisper back. It is way more effective than yelling!

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Want more? Last year I was writing about (lack of) sex after having a baby.